Clinical significance of elevation of serum CA125 level in patients with metastatic bladder carcinoma

Objective： To explore the clinical significance of the examination of serum CA125 level of patients with metastatic bladder carcinoma. Methods： Electrochemiluminescence technique was used to examine the serum CA125 concentration of 58 cases with metastatic bladder cancer. 30 cases of superficial bladder cancer and 8 cases of other urological diseases were collected as the control group. Results： Serum CA125 level in 39 （67.2%） out of 58 cases ranged from 36.7 U/mL to 1485.6 U/mL （mean 496.3 U/mL）, being higher than normal （〈 35 U/mL）. Serum CA125 level of metastatic bladder cancer patients was 324.5 U/mL, significantly higher than that in control group （P 〈 0.001）. Serum CA125 level of 10 patients after transurethral resection operation was significantly lower than that before operation （P 〈 0.05）. Serum CA125 level of 16 patients who refused further treatment significantly increased from 450.4 U/mL, to 505.8 U/mL （P = 0.041） 3 months after discharge from the hospital. Serum CA125 level of 17 patients significantly decreased from 475.8 U/L to 237.9 U/mL （P 〈 0.001 ） after bilateral iliac-artedal embolism treatment. Conclusion： CA125 may be a valuable marker for the judgment of advanced metastatic bladder cancer.

A review and a statistical analysis of porosity in metals additively manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

Additive manufacturing(AM), or 3D printing, is an emerging technology that “adds” materials up and constructs products through a layer-by-layer procedure. Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF) is a powder-bed-based AM technology that can fabricate a large variety of metallic materials with excellent quality and accuracy. However, various defects such as porosity,cracks, and incursions can be generated during the printing process. As the most universal and a near-inevitable defect,porosity plays a substantial role in determining the mechanical performance of as-printed products. This work presents a comprehensive review of literatures that focused on the porosity in LPBF printed metals. The formation mechanisms,evaluation methods, effects on mechanical performance with corresponding models, and controlling methods of porosity have been illustrated and discussed in-depth. Achievements in four representative metals, namely Ti-6Al-4V, 316L, Inconel 718, and Al Si10Mg, have been critically reviewed with a statistical analysis on the correlation between porosity fraction and tensile properties. Ductility has been determined as the most sensitive property to porosity among several key tensile properties. This review also provides potential directions and opportunities to address the current porosity-related challenges.

An improved yield criterion characterizing the anisotropic and tension-compression asymmetric behavior of magnesium alloy

A novel yield criterion based on CPB06 considering anisotropic and tension-compression asymmetric behaviors of magnesium alloys was derived and proposed(called M_CPB06).This yield criterion can simultaneously predict the yield stresses and the Lankford ratios at different angles(if any)under uniaxial tension,compression,equal-biaxial and equal-compression conditions.Then,in order to further describe the anisotropic strain-hardening characteristics of magnesium alloy,the proposed M_CPB06 criterion was further evolved to the M_CPB06ev model by expressing the parameters of the M_CPB06 model as functions of the plastic strain.As the model was developed,the stresses and Lankford ratios of AZ31B and ZK61M magnesium alloys at different angles under tensile,compressive and through-thickness compressive conditions were used to calibrate the M_CPB06/M_CPB06ev and the existing CPB06ex2 model.Calibration results reveal that compared with the CPB06ex2 yield criterion with equal quantity of coefficients,the M_CPB06 criterion exhibits certain advancement,and meanwhile the M_CPB06ev model can relatively accurately predict the change of the yield locus with increase of the plastic strain.Finally,the M_CPB06ev model was developed through UMAT in LS-DYNA.Finite element simulations using the subroutine were conducted on the specimens of different angles to the rolling direction under tension and compression.Simulation results were highly consistent with the experimental results,demonstrating a good reliability and accuracy of the developed subroutine.

The expression of ras-p21 and p53 protein in inguinal lymph nodes and clinical significance with penile cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and clinical significance of ras-p21 and p53 proteins in inguinal lymph nodes with penis carcinoma. Methods: The clinical data of 44 patients of penis (squamous) carcinoma and 40 non-tumor patients from 1990 to 2002 in our hospital were added to our research, 84 inguinal lymph nodes were got by lymph node biopsy from each patient at random. Pathological examination showed that 18 cases of cancer group were metastatic carcinoma as group A, the other 26 cases were inflammatory affection as group B. 20 cases of non-tumor group were nonspecific inflammatory inguinal lymph nodes as group C and the other 20 cases were normal lymph nodes as group D, all the 84 cases in our research were investigated by immunohistochemistry to detect the expression of ras-p21 and p53 protein. Results: Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the expression of as-p21 and p53 protein were significantly higher in cancer group A (88.89%, 72.22%) and B (30.77%, 23.08%) than in control group C (5%, 0%) and group D (0%, 0%.). The expression of two proteins showed significant differences between group A and group B (P < 0.01), and no significant differences between group B and group C (P > 0.05). The expression of two proteins showed significant difference between group A and control group (C + D) (P < 0.01). The expression of two proteins showed significant differences between cases of cancer groups (A + B) and control groups (C + D) (P < 0.01). Significant differences were showed between group (A + B) and group D with the expression of ras-p21 and p53 (P < 0.01). The expression of ras-p21 and p53 in three different differentiated groups were G1 (well-differentiated) group: (22.73%, 13.64%), G2 (moderate-differentiated) group: (81.25%, 68.75%), G3 (poorly differentiated) group: (100%, 83.33%). There was significant differences between G1 group and G3 group (P < 0.05), and no significant differences between G1 group and G2 group, G2 group and G3 group (P > 0.05). There was significant differences between three clinical stages with the expression of ras-p21 and p53 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Ras-p21 and p53 protein were highly expressed in cancer groups in this study, while, two proteins hardly detected from control groups. If the inflammatory lymph nodes of penile cancer patients show the positive expression of p21 and p53 protein, the inguinal lymph nodes also need dissection, which is important to improve the diagnosis of inguinal lymph node metastasis rate and patient survival of penile cancer. Ras-p21 and p53 protein detection can act an objective indicator of tumor metastasis and prognosis, and also for our treatment of penile cancer in the inguinal lymph node dissection surgery provides determine indicators.

Dissimilar Al/Mg alloys friction stir lap welding with Zn foil assisted by ultrasonic

The Zn-added ultrasonic assisted friction stir lap welding(UaFSLW) was carried out to improve the quality of dissimilar Al/Mg alloys joint. The effects of ultrasonic power on the joint quality were also investigated.The results indicated that the larger effective lap width and mixing region between Mg and Al(Mg/Al MR) were attained by Zn foil addition and external ultrasonic assistance. Compared with the conventional joint, the finer and better-distributed Mg-Zn IMCs placing the continuous Al-Mg IMCs were formed in the Mg/Al MR of the Zn-added UaFSLW joint. The Zn foil addition and external ultrasonic assistance significantly improved the tensile shear load of the joint, and the load was increased with the increase of the ultrasonic power. The maximum tensile shear load of 7.95 kN was attained, which was 52.6% larger than that of the conventional joint.

Nitrification and denitrification in biological activated carbon filter for treating high ammonia source water

Since the ammonia in the effluent of the tradi-tional water purification process could not meet the supply demand,the advanced treatment of a high concentration of NH4+-N micro-polluted source water by biological activated carbon filter(BACF)was tested.The filter was operated in the downflow manner and the results showed that the remov-ing rate of NH_(4)^(+)-N was related to the influent concentration of NH_(4)^(+)-N.Its removing rate could be higher than 95%when influent concentration was under 1.0 mg/L.It could also decrease with the increasing influent concentration when the NH_(4)^(+)-N concentration was in the range from 1.5 to 4.9 mg/L and the dissolved oxygen(DO)in the influent was under 10 mg/L,and the minimum removing rate could be 30%.The key factor of restricting nitrification in BACF was the influent DO.When the influent NH_(4)^(+)-N concentration was high,the DO in water was almost depleted entirely by the nitrifying and hetetrophic bacteria in the depth of 0.4 m filter and the filter layer was divided into aerobic and anoxic zones.The nitrification and degradation of organic matters existed in the aerobic zone,while the denitrification occurred in the anoxic zone.Due to the limited carbon source,the denitrifica-tion could not be carried out properly,which led to the accu-mulation of the denitrification intermediates such as NO_(2)^(−).In addition to the denitrification bacteria,the nitrification and the heterotrophic bacteria existed in the anoxic zone.

Genome sequence of Gossypium anomalum facilitates interspecific introgression breeding

Crop wild relatives are an important reservoir of natural biodiversity. However, incorporating wild geneticdiversity into breeding programs is often hampered by reproductive barriers and a lack of accurate genomicinformation. We assembled a high-quality, accurately centromere-anchored genome of Gossypium anomalum, a stress-tolerant wild cotton species. We provided a strategy to discover and transfer agronomicallyvaluable genes from wild diploid species to tetraploid cotton cultivars. With a (Gossypium hirsutum 3 G.anomalum)2 hexaploid as a bridge parent, we developed a set of 74 diploid chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) of the wild cotton species G. anomalum in the G. hirsutum background. This set of CSSLsincluded 70 homozygous substitutions and four heterozygous substitutions, and it collectively containedabout 72.22% of the G. anomalum genome. Twenty-four quantitative trait loci associated with plant height,yield, and fiber qualities were detected on 15 substitution segments. Integrating the reference genome withagronomic trait evaluation of the CSSLs enabled location and cloning of two G. anomalum genes thatencode peroxiredoxin and putative callose synthase 8, respectively, conferring drought tolerance andimproving fiber strength. We have demonstrated the power of a high-quality wild-species reference genomefor identifying agronomically valuable alleles to facilitate interspecific introgression breeding in crops.